Fenix was Gary Mehigan of Masterchef’s restaurant, but it was sold not too long after this visit. I believe it’s now a catering service, so you’ll have to go to The Boathouse to sample Gary’s food.
Speaking of Masterchef, that was the only reason I booked this place – and I’m glad I did, as it’s the only time I’ve visited the suburbs of Melbourne. It’s located in a secluded spot next to a river and still close to a tram stop. It was a serene place and perfect for a relaxing dinner.
The charcuterie board here was one of the best I’ve had – a great selection of salami, gherkin and that smoked mozarella was beautiful! The chilli stuffed olive inside, however, was quite spicy! It was a delicious and generous plate full of goodness.
I love the look of zucchini flowers, and these ones were stuffed with cheese and herbs. Not as tasty as some crab stuffed ones I’ve had though.
Duck with a radicchio, orange and fennel salad. This was so good, the duck was cooked and flavoured so nicely, but for some reason, there was the taste of detergent in this dish? No, there wasn’t actually detergent; food I’ve had since had also similar flavours. Perhaps it was coriander tasting like soap? However I do love coriander, so I’ve never figured this little conundrum out. The bits that didn’t taste like detergent were very tasty though! My friend enjoyed the chicken version of this dish, which looked similar but had distinctly different flavours.
I love ordering salads to find further inspiration for myself to make mindblowingly tasty salads, and this one had mixed lettuce, apple and parmesan. To be honest, it didn’t stand a chance against Rockpool Bar & Grill’s house salad.
Two desserts were ordered: caramel popcorn with chocolate mousse, and a creme brulee with chocolate madeleines. It was a very large and flat creme brulee, and due to the amount of food I had eaten, was a bit too much. I’m not a fan of madeleines though.
Overall though, it was great visiting this restaurant. For a relatively inexpensive meal, this was the place to go – the chacuterie platter was the highlight!